Unit+10+-+An+American+Empire+Or+An+American+Democracy?

=1980-Present=

World Map IDs

War Powers Act
- LBJ had bypassed Congress w/ secrecy, limited Congress' powers w/ Gulf of Tonkin resolution - after Vietnam, Congress tries to pick self up, re-establish checks and balances - pass War Powers Act, requiring the president to get approval from Congress for war after 60 days ^ Change in reaction to what had happened during the Vietnam war

Church Commission
- LBJ had bypassed Congress w/ secrecy, limited Congress' powers w/ Gulf of Tonkin resolution - after Vietnam, Congress tries to pick self up, re-establish checks and balances - pass Church Commission (named after and headed by Frank Church, a Senator from Idaho), which is to investigate CIA abuses; even suggests disbanding the CIA altogether ^ Change in reaction to what had happened during the Vietnam war

Dick Cheney
- from Wyoming - Yale drop/kick-out, doesn't like Easterners - graduates from Wyoming college 1965 - eligible for draft and supports war, but avoids draft; opts out by going to grad school, then having a family - pro-war for someone else - a "chickenhawk" - 1969, bombs first interview w/ Rumsfeld so demands a second, does much better -> hired, given job at Office of Economic Opportunity - believed in Imperial presidency - that the president enjoys executive privilege, is somewhat above the law, etc. - pushed for protection of executive privilege

Donald Rumsfeld
- Evanston, IL - was a "man with sharp elbows"; called a "ruthless little bastard" by Nixon - when special advisor to Nixon, decried Congressional "interference" - never should have investigated Watergate b/c Nixon has power; idea of Imperial Presidency - went to college, was a fighter pilot in the army but didn't see any action b/c at the time, no war - 1952, Senator of IL - got Ford nominally elected, paving way to future presidency; helped Nixon get elected, in return was given a federal appointment in the Office of Economic Opportunity (civil rights); while not enthusiastic, since it was his department, he ran it well - 1969 Donald hires Dick Cheney - 1971, Rumsfeld securely in the inner circle, wanted to move on to bigger things -> according to recording in the Oval office (that is, on record and official), Nixon says he's fit for everything but Secretary of Defense; has him in abroad jobs - sent to Europe -> misses all of the Watergate mess - Ford makes Rumsfeld Chief of Staff; Rum promotes Cheney; together they work to push Kissinger out (a real chore), replace him with Brent Scrocroft - made Secretary of Defense; 2 main jobs: rebuild army (not only in numbers from lost troops, but also in structure - fragging, etc. had greatly destabilized the structure) -> made all-volunteer army (sounds good, but then class differences - the rich can opt out, the poor tend to gravitate towards as other options are worse) - 2nd: oppose the Church Commission (idea of power, president being above the law) - 1976, Ford loses election -> Rumsfeld moves on to pharm. company, gets brain-tumor-inducing aspartame past FDA and into food

Iranian Hostage "Crisis"
- see: Unit 9 ^ brings idea of American Omnipotence to a new low ^ causes Carter to lose election to Reagan

"The Great Communicator"
- "The Great Communicator" = Ronald Reagan (TGC for short) - born a commoner in Dixon, IL; was a B-grade Hollywood actor, as well as a fan of FDR and his charisma (his ability to exude confidence) - once a Democrat, but became Repub/a secret FBI informer during the McCarthy years, even though it didn't really fit his personality - wins a CA governorship on a "law and order" platform in 1966, promptly begins cracking down on campuses - 1980, wins Repub nomination as "new" conservative; traditionally white supremacists had voted Democrat, but because of LBJ's War on Poverty and Civil Rights work, they quit voting Democrat (the time of the switch!) - tactics: uses Nixon's "Southern Strategy" to target disaffected white southerners; launches bid in Philadelphia, MS (site of civil rights murders), ignores civil rights; pushes for states rights and smaller federal gov.; promises to cut taxes, esp. on wealthy, to "stimulate economy" (trickle-down, from 70% to 50%) - returns to simplistic anti-communist dualism, promises to promote defense spending (contradictory w/ smaller gov. promises) - irony of appeals to religious conservatives: divorced, not a church member, a proponent of American Civil Religion; influential wife Nancy consults astrologers (witchcraft!) and thinks religious "right" are nutcases; never actually promotes what he promised (anti-abortion and prayer-in-school) - sunny, vacuous public optimism acts as societal narcotic; says things w/ no content, but comforting

Star Wars
- part of Reagan's huge "defense" budget to stop the Evil Empire - Money spent to produce weaponry like the MX "peacekeeper" missile - also spent on SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) - a hypothetical shield that would make nuclear war impossible, but the likelyhood of actually creating the shields were so low the project was dubbed "Star Wars" by its opponents

Grenada
- small island, socialist. Nothing there except a med. school which rich Americans who can't get into American schools go to, get degrees - Reagan sees opportunity, boost in appearance w/ win against "communism" - attacks, wipes floor - celebrates "victory" while ignoring deaths in Beirut (241 marines dead, April 1983) ^ example of foreign policy returning to myth of dualistic communism, reinforcement of US omnipotence

Glasnost
- Cold War, Soviets running out of money and things getting shaken up at home - Trade Unions and Catholic Church shaking things up in Poland; want more openness - typically, would put down with force - but USSR on edge of bankrupcy b/c of arms race, war in Afghanistan - Gorbachev the leader at the time, sort of anti-Stalin; allows for openness ("glasnost") ^ change in attitude + policy; glasnost as openness, perestroika as reconstruction - at Reykjavik, Iceland, Reagan and Gorbachev meet; discover they can relate as human beings -> thaw in Cold war, Reagan tones rhetoric down

Taliban
- Islamic fundamentalist "freedom fighters" in Afghanistan ^a good example of America's "dualistic monolithic communism" and "friend of friend = enemy" ideologies

Rodney King
- 4 LA police accused of beating African American Rodney King (somewhere along the line, theres video proof) but are aquitted in the end -> 1000s of people riot over the next 6 days in LA with smaller similar riots and anti police actions taking place across the US and even Canada - 53 people end up dead, 1000's injured, and around $1 property damage - riots indicate continued court injustice and ongoing ghetto frustration

OJ Simpson
- Simpson is charges with killing Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman (both white) -> widely publicized "trial of the century" ends with Simpson being found not guilty - trial completely racializes "justice" : polls showed most blacks felt justice was served while most whites did not

Somoza Family
- background: Central America struggle between liberationalists and repressive govs installed by American companies who dominate economically; backed by multi-nationals and death squads trained at controversial "School of the Americas" in GA - Nicaragua dictatorship; 1926, former latrine inspector Somoza named head of "national guard" by Calvin Coolidge (head of death squads) -> Somoza family takes over and rules for 50 years; repressive and corrupt, but allows for middle class and shows favoritism for US; backed by US; acts as launching pad for US "interventions" ex. Guatemala (1954) and Cuba (1961) - 1972, earthquake devastates region, Somozas steal relief money; nothing new, but publicity -> wide opposition grows - Nicaraguan revolution mix of moderates, radicals- broad coalition - Carter indecisive as to who/how to help -> coalition fails, but extremists encouraged - Somozas ousted and leftist Sandinistas replace as dom. gov; US doesn't offer to help in rebuilding -> turn to Cubans, who are happy to help -> fears of dualistic anti-communism resurface; Reagan backs Contras ^ background to Iran-Contra Scandal

Contras
- former death squad members of the Somozas in Nicaragua; now outcast b/c of past deeds; want to reinstate gov. similar to before, but have nothing except US support - Reagan backs former "National Guard" -> they attack peasants in rural areas, not very effective -Reagan calls the contras anti-communists "freedom fighters", coins term - asks for help for Contras from Congress, refused; Congress even passes Boland Amendment to forbid aid - Reagan allows for CIA to secretly, illegally intervene -> more dualistic myth of anti-communism: mining of Nicaraguan harbors (condemned by World court, which doesn't do much); blowing up oil storage depot, which screws with the Nicaraguan economy - atrocities of Contras (reign of terror on back-country natives) at times matched by Sandanistas' oppression - trade embargo cripples Nicaraguan economy, but strengthens its ties w/ Cuba, the Soviets ^ background to Iran-Contra scandal

Robert McFarlane
- background: US secretly selling arms to Iran for 9 hostages in Lebanon; idea rejected by Carter angrily when presented to him - Reagan's rep - hard-liner, don't negotiate w/ hostage-takers - but more taken; after Beirut bombing, Reagan pulls out - Iran supposedly has connection to the shadowy groups kidnapping people -> help from Iranians? - NSA advisor who suggest a similar arms-to-Iran plan Robert McFarlane; also rejected by Reagan, but goes ahead - contacts Iranian gunrunner M. Ghorbanifer; @ first disagree over prices (over 300% profit), and Iran refuses -> fix prices, Iran agrees, secret deals go through ^ starts the Iranian side of the scandal; starts the secret trades

Boland Amendment
- made in direct response to Reagan's asking for help from Congress for the Contras -says that no president may aid revolutionaries w/o Congress' knowledge + consent

John Poindexter
- new NSA man who gets Reagan to sign off on the secret Iranian deals - resigns after scandal exposed

Oliver North
- Iranian deals -> what to do with money? Can't dump into treasury... Oliver North, a Marine colonel and part of NSA, says, "Give it to Contras!" - using illegally obtained $$$ to fund illegal ops... - Oct. 1986, US transport plane shot over Nicaragua, found carrying weapons - story doesn't leak until Nov. 3, 1986, in Lebanese press - Iran admits to secret deals, Reagan admits 11/13/86 but doesn't say it's for hostages - one weekend, Oliver North and secretary shred all documents - very successful - Attorney General Meese admits money did go to Contras; Poindexter resigns - takes all the blame for everything in the end, after all the investigations and such

Tower Commission
- set up to investigate the Iran-Contra scandal, along with Congressional investigations - led by John Tower from Texas as well as Brent Scrocfort from NSA, made of the foxes, go after Reagan while ignoring Bush pointedly b/c he was former head of CIA. - uncovers illegal activity at top levels, but officials stonewall, and w/ no reporters or dedicated people investigating -> stonewall works, no breaks like in Watergate - Reagan says he doesn't remember (Alzheimer's) - Cheney plays significant role in sneaking, House investigation - gets immunity (can admit information w/o getting in trouble, can't be asked again in a court) for North -> North tells lots, but says he did it; can't be charged - makes sure VP Bush isn't checked out - w/ David Addington, writes moinority report that justifies dictatorial powers; shows the scary side of Cheney - 2009, inadvertantly condemns leadership that abandons "subordinates" (hypocritical w/ North) - CIA director Casey never testifies, Bush off hook, but McFarlane's suicide attempt shows great stress - despite clear evidence of cover-up, no repercussions, many people involved go on to get gov. jobs

Willie Horton Ad
- election of 1988; mandate to continue Reagan policies - Lee Atwater hired by Repubs, revolutionizes negative campaigning; Bush promises no new tazes! - protray Dukakis (gov of MA, opponent in election) as eastern liberal elitist, Bush as rough/resp. war hero - infamous Willie Horton ad also put to use: prison funding in MA cut, so had to release some people early -> Willie Horton, black rapist, set loose -> rapes again; signs w/ evil-looking black man posted by Repubs, who blame it on Dukakis ^ Bush wins, sets new standards of campaigning

Berlin Wall
- through quirk of political luck, Bush comes into power @ time of fall of Communism - intelligent and cautious, doesn't taunt commies about it (which would make them band together + hate America more) - starts in Poland: Walesa, Solidarity, Cath. Church force communist ouster - E. Germany follows suit in Nov. 1989, Berlin wall demolished; Bush doesn't taunt about - Soviet Union opened up b/c glasnost, perestroika; opens in summer to Hungary for vacation, Hungary opens borders to Austria, Austria free -> people escape to Austria -? disintegration of Soviet Union - Bush walks tightrope, manages to keep Russian hardliners from intervention - commies try to take Yeltsin, Moscow stops, Gorby exiled even though he was a decent enough guy - eleven separate republics by Dec. 1991 in CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) - Cold War over; what next? Peace dividend NOT lol - just new wars on other people

Manual Noreiga
- Central America, Nicaraguans sick of ongoing war -> vote Sandanistas out - Panama becomes new focus: war on drugs - strongman/dictator Manual Noreiga, recruited by Bush and CIA (as well as the Soviets and drug runners) - he becomes increasingly involved in drug-running, so Bush initiates Operation Just Cause to bomb Panama, capture Noreiga - successful; blows lots of shit up, over quite quickly ^ new model of unilateral militarism; easy success means easy acceptance

NSD 26
- 10/2/1989, Signed by Bush - abbr. for National Security Directive 26 - a) goal: to achieve "normal relations between US and Iraq" - b) rationale: to serve "our longer-term interests and to promote stability in both the Gulf and the Middle East" - c) strategy: use "economic and political incentives for Iraq to modify its behavior and to increase our influence w/ Iraq" - d) strategy translation: use bribes to make friendly Arab axis w/ Saudi Arabians; save oil and Israel - e) signed into policy despite knowledge of billions of $ in illegal loans from Italian Bank (BNL) from WMD (weapons of mass destruction)(including nuclear) and significant human rights abuses - in light of Saddam, Sen. for Relat. Comm. suggests economic sanctions, but Bush opposes -> Saddam continues to play both sides, even as the Soviet Union begins to disintegrate ^ setup for the first Gulf War

April Glaspie
- First Gulf war breaks out August 1991 - Kuwait a small fiefdom created by the west, has oil plus access to Persian gulf -> good for trade; ruled by elites - Iraq long believed Kuwait a part of it (Saddam: no reason to exist besides artificial creation by Westerners, we're all of the same ethnicity, religion), complain of slant drilling (drilling horizontally -> into Iraq oil fields) - Saddam tells American ambassador April Glaspie that he wants it back; "The US would have no such interest in such action" - seems to acquiesce - when he invades, Bush, tired of being played + wanting to split, freaks and as strategy calls Saddam "Hitler", insists on saving Kuwaiti "democracy" - goes to UN, referring to dangers of appeasement (back to post-WWII, not post-Vietnam) -> gets universal support for invasion; coalition led by US forces - notes this is a threat to Saudi Arabia (repressive ally and friend of the Bush family; personal) ^ Start of first Gulf War; See: Desert Shield, Desert Storm

Desert Shield
- 1st Gulf War - Secretary of defense Dick Cheney sent to Saudi Arabia to set up "Desert Shield" - to protect Saudi Arabia from possible attack; defensive, thousands of troops sent there on //chance// ^ "shows what the war really is about" - oil

Desert Storm
- 1dt Gulf War - Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell lead lightning strikes "Desert Storm" to liberate Kuwait quickly (see: Manual Noreiga) - freakishly success, even though Saddam has 4th largest army (which we built/armed/trained/etc.) as well as chemical weapons (from dual-use tech we gave) - US troops stop short of Baghdad (capital of Iraq), justifying with "just Kuwait" as the target - want to keep the secular Saddam in power for stability, as opposed to religious groups/leaders - Saddam takes advantage of US's needing him, gassing rebellious Kurds and southern Shiites - despite usual lies, 91% approve of Bush ("liberator of Kuwait"); later survives assassination attempt while in Kuwait (-> hate of Iraq instilled in son; tried to kill his daddy) - then, Bush's approval goes down as econ. tanks (had to raise taxes for war, but campaign was promising no new taxes) + he's too big to blame the actual people at fault - Newt Gingrich bolts from bipartisan tax agreement -> budget agreement fails (Newt is Speaker) - Bush left trying to bail out savings and loan collapse (oddly, Dem. help but Repub. bail) -> saves Reagan's legacy in the process - Bush left looking wimpy and hypocritical -> loses election to upstart Bill Clinton - but, gets payback; pardons all involved in Iran-Contra scandal as he leaves office

Colin Powell
See: Desert Storm Powell Doctrine developed after the 1st Gulf war 1. deployment of troops only when "vital national interests at stake" 2. clear assessment of opposing forces before engagement 3. full understanding of ramifications of involvement 4. conscious formulation of exit strategy

Osama Bin Ladin
- some rich, fanatical Arabs (ex. Osama bin Laden) take exception to US troops defiling Saudi Arabia; "infidels," Osama turns against own family and the West, goes to Afghanistan to join w/ equally extreme Taliban; when Soviets collapse, Taliban wins and Afghanistan loses -> able to establish Al Keida ^ est. of Al Keida

Mogadishu
- Clinton comes into office, inherits situations, ex. troops in Somalia - pulls out after 18 troops die in Mogadish - conservatives denounce him when he was there for "nation-building", then accuse him of "cutting and running" when he pulls out - Osama sees this, becomes convinced that US is a 'paper tiger' (power and looks good, but not willing to use it) - later, citing Somalia, Clinton refuses to interfere in Rwana -> 500,000 die

Whitewater
- many problems during Clinton's term; people try to impeach - Whitewater a shady business deal, enough so that Repub. part of Congress sends guys to stick something to CLinton - shows sleazy side, but nothing illegal proved ^ run-up/start of investigations -> sex scandal

Monica Lewinsky
- guy hired to dig dirt on Clinton - Ken Starr - spends $50 million in pursuit, finally discovers affair with Monica Lewinsky - self-righteous, hypocritical "Contract with America" Republicans go nuts - speaker Gingrich calls him out even though he also was involved in serial aldultries, divorces... -> forced out, but then successor found to be guilty of same things shortly after - impeachment articles easily defeated; Fr. find this all hilarious

PNAC
- rise of neo-con, imperialist agenda; PNAC (acronym?) emerges, headed by hawks and Iran-Contra figures - note: conservatives and neo-convervatives different; conservatives=big business, defense spending, small gov, isolationist... neo-cons=cons on steroids; offense spending, "spread the American way" - Washington think tank (1997) to est. plans for global dominance, "Pax Americana" - sees itself as fringe: process "to be long" w/o "catastrophic and catalyzing event" (ex. Pearl Harbor) -> want something bad to happen - "Rebuilding America's Defenses (i.e. offense): Strategy, Forces, and Resources for New Century" (2000) - Bush's policy agenda

Ahmed Chalabi
- crazy (bona fide nutcase) source; says Saddam has greater WMD capabilities than CIA, UN inspectors believe - creates fear, further complications within gov.

Halliburton
- ex. of Bush's foreign policy; extreme secrecy - complete attachment to oil and defense industries and corporate America -refusal to open energy policy meetings, attended only by oil execs and pals - Enron officials and oil execs formulate secret energy policy - Cheney fights congress and watchdog agencies in court - hypocrisy of questionable connections to Halliburton affiliates and policies (Halli = an oil co.)

Condoleeza Rice
- neo-cons "balanced" by Sec. of State Powell and NSA Condoleeza Rice - Condi disciple of Poppy's NSA guys, George Schultz and Brent Scrocroft - 7/10/01, CIA boss Tenet briefs Condi on looming threat from al-Qaeda; news "made his hair stand on end" - Condi doesn't go to Bush (??!?!?!?!?) - at same time, Phoenix FBI agent tells of al-Qaeda signing up for civil aviation school... - Bush on vacation; nothing done, asses covered, some private flights stopped - FBI-CIA rivalry makes thing worse (Chalabi) - no prep for 9/100

Powell Doctrine
- neo-cons "balanced" by Sec. of State Powell and NSA Condoleeza Rice - Powell dotrine developed in aftermath of successful 1st Gulf war - 1. deployment of American troops only when "vital national interests" at stake - 2. clear assessment of opposing forces before engagement - 3. full understanding of ramifications of involvement - 4. conscious formulation of an exit strategy - important neo-cons interested in expanding on this ^ contrasting w/ Bush Doctrine

9/11
- 19 terrorists (15 Saudi Arabians, no Iraqis/Afghans) hijack 4 planes into WTC, Pentagon - death toll

Bush Doctrine
- a resp. to 9/11 - unilateral authority to use military in pre-emptive strieks against anybody threatening "national security" - opposed to the Powell doctrine/Wolfowitz; should be anyone threatening to become a superpower - plans begin early, using Bush Doctrine to extend "War on Terrorism" to Iraq - Bush cites usual rationales: America's God-given duty to spread democracy/freedom - interesting and meaningful omission, no oil mentioned, even though Poppy used it as a major reason for 1st Gulf war, + Fed. Res. chief Greenspan acknowledges it as the main cause in 2007 ^ what's the limit? Where is the line drawn? ^ real reasons

Downing Street Memo
- Bush looking for support for invasion of Iraq - turns to Europe, UN - DSM, 8/23/02, Brits from DC tell of Bush's desire to attack - how he wants to "remove SH through military action"; thinks that Iraq war is inevitable, time to 'fix intelligence and facts abouot this policy" - Cheney, NCS have no patience with UN; Powell disagrees